The Hall of Famer and winningest coach in major college football history has agreed to a new deal with the university, the athletic department said Tuesday in a statement.

The agreement will provide “for the opportunity of Coach Joe Paterno leading the football program through the 2011 season,” the statement said. JoePa turns 82 on Sunday.

“It was also agreed that the parties might reevaluate their circumstances and alter the arrangement by either shortening or extending its length as necessary,” the statement said.

The agreement ends months of speculation about Paterno’s future since his current deal had expired following this season. University president Graham Spanier and Paterno had announced in the spring that Paterno didn’t need something in writing to stay on a job he’s had a record 43 years.

Yet contract questions still dogged both sides until Nov. 22, when Paterno said after the Big Ten title-clinching win over Michigan State that he planned to return in 2009.